Work with speech norms

Талдау

Row 1: a statement in the future becomes reported speech with backshift: will changes to would, and tomorrow changes to the next day. So the correct form is “He said he would send the report the next day.” The form “He said he will send the report tomorrow.” keeps the original tense and time word, so it is wrong. Row 2: a wh-question in reported speech uses statement word order, without did, and the Past Simple moves back to the Past Perfect. The pronouns also change: you becomes he and my becomes her. So the correct form is “She asked him where he had put her keys.” The form “She asked him where did he put her keys.” keeps the question word order, so it is wrong.

Талдау

When the reporting verb is in the past, the tense moves back: "will help" becomes "would help" and "are" becomes "was" or "were". The pronouns change: "I" becomes "she" and "you" becomes "he" or "him". The words "this" and "tomorrow" become "that" and "the next day" or "the following day". "Mary told her brother that she would help him with that project the next day if he was free." meets all these rules. "Mary said to her brother that she would help him with that project the following day if he were free." is also correct, because "said to" is the right pattern and "were" is an acceptable form in the conditional clause. "Mary told to her brother that she will help him with this project tomorrow if he is free." is wrong: "told" takes no "to", and the tenses and time words are not changed. "Mary said her brother that she would help him with that project the next day if he was free." is wrong: "said" needs "to" before the listener. "Mary told her brother that she would help him with that project the day before if he was free." is wrong: "the day before" refers to the past, not the future. "Mary told her brother that she would help you with the project the next day if you were free." is wrong: the pronoun "you" is not changed to "him" or "he".

Талдау

The first speaker expresses gratitude, so the polite and standard reply is "You're welcome." "Same to you" answers good wishes (for example, Happy birthday), "Excuse me" is used to attract attention or apologise, and "Not likely" expresses doubt or refusal and does not fit a thank-you.

Талдау

A written reply to a company director requires a formal register throughout. 'I regret to inform you that I shall be unable to attend owing to a prior engagement' uses formal phrases (regret to inform, shall, owing to, prior engagement) and has no colloquial elements. 'I regret to inform you that I can't come, 'cause I'm totally swamped with work right now' mixes a formal opening with the contraction 'can't', the slang 'cause' and the informal 'totally swamped'. 'Thanks a bunch for the invitation, but I am obliged to decline it, mate, as I am busy' mixes the informal 'Thanks a bunch' and 'mate' with the formal 'I am obliged to decline'. 'Sorry, no way I can make it to the conference, as I have a prior engagement, you know' is colloquial ('no way', 'you know') and unsuitable for a director. So only the consistently formal sentence is correct.

Талдау

A formal email to a stranger needs a neutral, polite and indirect register. «I would be grateful if you could send me the course details.» uses a conditional polite request and no colloquial words. «Could you send me the course details, mate? I need them quickly.» contains the informal word «mate» and sounds urgent. «I want you to send me the course details by tomorrow morning.» is a blunt demand, not a request. «Just send me the course details, OK? I'm really busy right now.» is colloquial and impolite. So only «I would be grateful if you could send me the course details.» fits the formal speech norm.

Талдау

The speaker expresses thanks, so the reply must be a standard response to thanks. "You're welcome." is the normal polite answer. "Same to you." answers a wish such as "Have a nice day". "I beg your pardon." is used when you did not hear something or want to apologise. "I'm sorry to hear that." responds to bad news.

Талдау

A polite request to a stranger needs a polite opening ("Excuse me"), a softening modal form ("could you") and "please". "Excuse me, could you tell me the time, please?" has all three and is grammatically correct. "Hey you, tell me what the time is right now." and "Give me the time, I need to know it quickly." are rude commands. "Excuse me, what time you have got, please?" is polite in tone but breaks the word order of a question.